Everything started with an e-mail from my Dutch friend, Ernst. He wrote: “We will be going to Kyrgyzstan for a ski-oriented expedition. The trip will be 24 days in total and we are going to the Ak-Shirak range. There are eight unclimbed peaks in the 4000-5000m range which we will be targeting. And in a world where much has already been discovered, don't you want to join?!”
Many emails later, I met the team at the Istanbul Airport. We were nine people from different countries such as Austria, England, USA, Holland and Sweden. A bunch of friends and new faces with different skis and mountaineering experiences.